Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-23

TUESDAY. AUGUST 23, 1887.
Our Ports.


The excursion yesterday to Port
Ballona was in all respects an episode
thoroughly characteristic of Califor-
nia-particularly of Southern Califor-
mia, and above all of the section lying
about Los Angeles at this present
moment. In the first place, the day
was simply perfect as the poets ideal
"day in june" Albeit the mercury
stood up in the nineties during a part
of the day, yet the freshness OF the
gentle breeze from the ocean so miti-
gated the effect of this temperature
that not jot of discomfort was
experienced by the least robust sys-
tenn in the great throng of visitors to
the new harbor. Many of those on
the train had never visited Ballona
before, and knew but little of the sec
tion of country lying between this city
and the oceanside. Their surprise was
very pronounced as they saw the lux
nriant vineyards in wide stretches, ,and
the thrifty, well-trimmed orchards of
all sorts of trees along and through
which the train sped. The sew
eral new townsites at intervals
along the line were deci-
siyely features peculiar to the
boom, now running at floodtide in
this part of the State. Many OF these
were greatly admired for the fine
views they present of Los Angeles
valley. Wondermont reached its
climax with the visitors when the
ocean was reached, and the great ex-
ploits in progress there surveyed.
Harbors is the only element of COM
mercial development in which nature
has been at all stinted in her man
ner of endowment when she
came to deal with this
lower half OF the State of California.
This niggardliness falls far short of
putting an absolute veto on the sec
tion in respect of the commerce of
the seas. While there is confessedly
no harbor of the magnificent proper
tions OF San Francisco bay, or abso-
lutely land-locked, as in the case of
Acapulco; vet at no great intervals,
all the way from Point Conception to
the line between this State and the
Mexican possessions, there are smaller
and less protected bodies of water,
of which good harbors may be made.
At Port Harford, Santa Barbara, San
Buenayentura, Hueneme, Santa Mon
ica, Port Ballona, San Pedro and Will
mington, Anaheim Landing, New
port and San Diego there are possibil-
tiles of no mean order, which the
enterprise and ingenuity of man will
improve to furnish us with this one
element Of greatness which nature
has left largely to man to obtain with
little help from her otherwise most
generous hand.
Port Ballona in the work begun
there and now going forward will in
the immediate future fully exemplify
these fine possibilities out of which
our poverty shall be made rich in
commercial facilities. 1t will take a
large expenditure of money to do this
work, but it is in the hands of men
who will not hesitate in their doings.
They know full well the importance OF
their undertaking and the value of the
exploit when complete.
The ocean lay wide out from the
little bay, smooth and peaceful, with
the tint of truest ultramarine under
the warm rays of the summer sun.
And this is pre-eminently one of the
endowments nature has blessed this
part of the coast with, apparently to
make amends so far az such a thing
can be done, for her neglect of us in
the laying down of harbors along the
coast. Out of the least pleasant
wears that we experience here, there
are three hundred and fifty days in
which the surface of the sea lies along
our coast as placid as it was yester-
day. 1t is only one day in three to
five years that storm is experienced
along our sea-border which at all in
terferes with shipping riding
Mt anchor in an open road
stead. There is to-day ample
facilities to dock and handle
all the shipping called for to carry the
merchandise coming to this end of the
State in its present condition of partial
development and comparatively sparse
population. AS the resources of the
section are developed; as its popula-
fion increases, and as our commercial
relations with the world widen and en-
large, these facilities can and will be
kept quite abreast of the necessities OF
the case